Market trading is sluggish and rare earth metal prices continue to fall [SMM Analysis]

After the formal resumption of production of downstream magnetic materials, the inquiry situation in the metal market has not improved significantly, and low-price counteroffers still exist. Each factory adjusts its quotation strategy according to its own financial situation, and the prices of many rare earth metals are under pressure.

According to SMM statistics, as of last Friday, the price of praseodymium and neodymium metals dropped to around 450,000 yuan/ton, the price of ferrodymium fell to less than 1.8 million yuan/ton, the price of terbium metal has dropped to around 650,000 yuan/ton, and the price of cerium metal dropped to 25,000 yuan/ton. It is understood from some metal companies that under the influence of the continued decline in oxide prices, raw material inventories of metal plants have remained low. At the same time, magnetic material companies only maintain on-demand purchases and wait to see the results of group quotations. A salesperson from a large metal factory said that due to the significant increase in rare earth ore imports and relatively stable changes in downstream demand, the market's oversupply structure has continued to intensify. It is expected that rare earth prices will face greater oversupply pressure this year.

In March, the rare earth market will usher in a full resumption of production.